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 If you have a male war veteran in your family, you would do well to know that they're at double the rate of committing suicide than civilians. This alarming fact came from a study recently published in the July issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
The study itself was written by health researches hailing from both Portland and Oregon universities. Mark Kaplan, lead author and professor in the School of Community Health at Portland State University, revealed his findings:
We clearly demonstrated that independent of when they served in the military, veterans were all equally at risk for suicide. What’s more, we showed that veterans were at a greater risk of dying of suicide when compared to the non-veteran population.
He also cited impaired functional status or disabilities which the veteran may have been afflicted with during his tour of duty. This definitely adds to the risk of suicide among male veterans.
And it's not just broad generalization at work here, either. Instead of relying on Vietnam-era veterans or clinical populations, the researchers actually evaluated a sample of the general population, using a representative data set from 104,026 veterans nationwide.
Other conclusions derived from the study are:
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Whites and those with 12-plus years or more of education are at greater risk for suicide.
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The risk of death from other causes such as disease or accidents did not differ between veterans and non-veterans.
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Overweight vets had a lower risk for suicide.
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Activity limitation increased veterans' risk factors.
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Veterans are 58% more likely to be use firearms to commit suicide than non veterans.
Certainly sobering news for us who have veterans in our families, isn't it? And it's not just us who should worry about this news. Bentson McFarland, M.D., reminds family members as well as healthcare providers to be specially aware when it comes to individuals having served in previous wars - the increased risk of suicide is simply nothing to scoff at.
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